


Sister Christian

by DanelleSepthon



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Attempts at Luther redemption maybe, Claustrophobia, F/F, F/M, Found Family, Gen, Good Sister Vanya Hargreeves, He's on thin fucking ice, Hurt/Comfort, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus and Vanya Team Up, Lesbian Vanya Hargreeves, M/M, No Incest, Other, Protective Ben Hargreeves, Protective Klaus Hargreeves, Protective Vanya Hargreeves, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, lots of comfort, road tripping, self discovery, ya nasties
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2019-12-18 04:10:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18242120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanelleSepthon/pseuds/DanelleSepthon
Summary: A cage is a cage, whether is was made to look like a vault or a mausoleum. Klaus decides that if no one is going to let Vanya out, then it’s up to him. (Klaus stops the apocalypse by being a good bro and getting his sister tf out of the house.)





	1. Give 'em Hell Kid

Luther had been the first one to see Vanya when she returned to the Academy. What came from that was entirely predictable.

Looking in through the glass window to Vanya’s literal prison brought back horrible memories. Klaus found it hard to breathe as fear and panic tried to flood his system, only restrained by his ghostly brother’s steady presence behind him. His hand fell into place on the side of the cage door. The cold steel reminded him of a similar barricade, one made of marble and drenched in the dried bodily fluids of the deceased. The screams, the fear, it all hit him like a truck. He tried so hard to come up with something, come up with anything that might let Vanya out or rip Luther a new one. The words wouldn’t come through, got stuck in the back of his throat. Thankfully, his brother gained an appropriately sharp tongue before he did. 

Diego looked past the glass at their sobbing little sister, shock clear in his eyes as they watch her scream and beat on the glass. “You locked up our sister because you _think_ she has powers-”

“No. I know she has powers.” There was no doubt in his tone, Klaus noted, nor was there much concern for Vanya’s well being. It reminded him of their dear departed father: uncaring of emotion, focused on information. The thought made him sick but Luther didn’t seem to notice. “Pogo told me. He’s always known and so did Dad.” 

“Why would they hide this from us?” Diego shook his head with his mouth agape. “I mean, am I the only one that didn’t know this place existed?”

Another of the old man’s billion of terrible secrets brought to light. “He hid so much from us....” Klaus thought aloud. The cell had to have cost a good amount of money and a hell of a lot of effort to build on their father’s end. What could little Vanya have _possibly_ done to justify this level of security in her containment? What could she have done is justify _containment at all_?

“He hid it because he was afraid. Of her.” Luther made a motion to Vanya’s screaming face like he was pointing out an interesting animal in a zoo. They couldn’t hear her, but it was pretty simple to see that every muted cry was an apology, a plea for forgiveness. He wanted to tell Vanya that she didn’t need to beg, that he understood, that he Allison wasn’t upset, but there was a wall of obstinate muscle between them. Luther was being ridiculous and Klaus expressed as much. 

“Is it? Dad’s lied about everything else. Why is this so farfetched?”

Klaus couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Who cared if Dad thought locking up Vanya was a good idea? He also thought sending Luther up to the moon was a smart choice, after all.

“If you’re right,” Diego interrupted them. “Then maybe she’s the one who killed Peabody.”

Luther gave a somber nod of agreement. “And cut Allison’s throat.”

“Whoa, no. Let’s… I ju- Sorry, just, let’s go back. All right?” To Klaus’ joy, the two actually turned to him. How much Luther was willing to hear from him, he didn’t know. “This Vanya we’re talking about. Our sister. The one who always cried when we stepped on ants as kids.”

“Yeah, I know. I know it’s difficult to accept--”

Klaus raised both his hands with a pointed look up to Luther’s face. Number One was a bit shocked to see the clarity in his brother’s eyes. “It’s not difficult to accept. It’s impossible to accept.” 

A second of silence passed through the chamber as the three brothers looked back to Vanya, how had seemingly grown tired of trying to get their attention. She was still sobbing, but their sister back off from the glass to hold her arms around herself in apparent terror. A look to Diego told Klaus that he was having similar thoughts on the subject to him, if not the same. In confirmation, Diego turned away from him to face Luther. Despite being so much smaller than his brother, his stance was firm, foot finally ready to fall down.

“No. No, he’s right,” he said. “Look, we can’t keep her locked up without proof.”

Two against one. For once. There was hope and it made Klaus feel a lot better then he had in a long while. Even that little taste of a minor victory, someone simply agreeing with him, really got his blood pumping.

Luther wasn’t used to direct opposition from them, especially when he was fighting such a losing battle. He was always the groups most powerful sibling, the one that always took the head and led them on. It wasn't that the rest of the Hargreeves were ones to submit, really, more that they usually preferred to just let Luther take the helm. They’d disagreed with him in the past, but Klaus and Diego both ganging up against him successfully was not a common sight.

“Wh- What more proof do you need?” He was trying to save his argument, but Klaus wanted _none_ of it.  

“Why don’t we just open the door and _ask her_?” Vanya was right there, inches away from them. The more Klaus thought about it the sillier their whole discussion felt.

Suddenly, Luther went rigid, actively pushing Klaus away and placing himself between them and the door. “No, she’s not going anywhere.”

Every worry they had about the situation could be answered by just trusting Vanya, their _little sister_ , for less than a minute, just enough time for her to explain herself. She had made mistakes in her life but so had all of them. All of the Hargreeves were fucked up. This was just an escalation of just _how_ fucked up they could be. That didn’t mean Vanya need to be imprisoned on such little evidence. What was she even thinking in there? Did she think they hated her? That this was just some kind of sick joke? God, he just wanted to talk to her, comfort her. Klaus knew exactly how it felt, to be isolated in one’s own personal prison. It made him feel like he was suffocating, but that all might have just been him projecting. The main issue Klaus had one his mind was deeply personal. No one was there to let him out of his cage. Could he really just let her go through a similar ordeal when he could prevent it?

“No,” Diego asserted once again. “Even if your right, she needs our help. We can’t do that if she’s locked in a cage.” He was standing his ground, but Klaus saw Luther’s firm position. He had to jump in, chip away where he could.

“And for all we know, she might be struggling with this new power!” The seance turned away from them, watching in silent pain as Vanya mouthed out his own name- _Klaus! Klaus!-_ in her desperate struggle for escape. “I mean, it must be scary -terrifying, really- to discover that you can do something that you never thought you could do.”

“Look, if what Pogo told me is even half true, then she is not just a danger to us-” He locked eyes with Allison as soon as she entered the room. Her gaze was fixed on Vanya, though, and seemed ready to beeline right for her. Luther was quick to hold her back, club-like fists turning to open palms. “Allison, what are you doing down here? You should be in bed.”

Tossing his hand away, Allison fixed him with a pointed glare, one that spoke volumes of her disapproval. They all patiently waited to see what she was writing on her tablet and were unsurprised to see an order for Vanya’s release.

“I can’t do that. She hurt you.” Luther tried to take a step towards her, but Allison was having none of it. Klaus didn’t blame her. 

As he watched the scene unfold, Diego tried to ease them both out of Allison’s silent battle against Luther. He lightly bumped Klaus’ arm and motioned to the door, but Klaus wasn’t paying attention. There was too much happening to just walk away. He didn’t want to walk away, do what their father would have done and just leave Vanya all alone. He tried to resist Diego’s attempts to pull him away, but Number Two was much stronger than him physically. Diego forced him the door away from the scene.

From behind, Klaus could hear more scratching, more pleading surely coming from Allison’s pen onto her notepad, but he just couldn’t wait there any longer. Klaus felt sicker than he had in his whole fucked up life, which considering how many overdoses he’d experienced that was saying something. Turning away from poor, poor Vanya felt so much like a goodbye that he wanted to vomit.

“Come on, bro.” Diego put an arm around Klaus, likely seeing the color draining from his brother’s face. “Let’s let Allison try and make some more headway on him and we can try again in the morning..”

“I’m sorry but she’s staying put,” he heard Luther say behind them. “Just until we know what we’re dealing with.”

Despite his brother’s pull towards the door, Klaus couldn’t bring himself to move forward. He couldn't watch, but every fiber of his being was telling him not to leave. Ben had been staying to the side for most of the proceedings, but he too showed a kind of invisible solidarity as his phantom figure didn't move an inch from the scene. Diego kept pushing him on, but his feet remained planted. “We can’t let him do this, Diego. This isn’t right.”

“Are you really going to go off on me right now, Klaus?” Diego hissed, causing Klaus to physically recoil. “Let’s talk about this upstairs. Give Allison a chance to make him see sense and regroup tomorrow.”

“Isn’t that supposed to your job? You're the one who's supposed to be keeping Number One in check. She’s stewing in her own misery. What if she hurts herself on accident? We can’t just let Vanya sit there overnight all alone. I know you don’t care what I have to say, but that’s our sister, bro.” He broke out of Diego’s reach, turning to face him. “We gotta do something to stop this. Now!” 

“Klaus, w-we need to back off for now. Let the air settle.” He ran a hand through his hair and took a step forward himself. “I don’t want Vanya to be stuck in that room any more than you do. I think it's totally a bad call, but Luther’s a bastard when he wants things his way. Hopefully, Allison can make him see some sense and we can go from there.”

“Dude that isn’t gonna work-”

“It’s the only plan I have.” Diego stopped his brother with his hand, ending the discussion. “I’m gonna think on this more and we’ll try to let her out when we can. I’m not exactly a ‘plan guy’, so it’ll take me a sec to come up with a second move. For right now, maybe we should just all rest on everything separately.”

So they should let Vanya rot? Inside a prison cell? Logically, his statement made sense, but it didn’t sit right in Klaus’ mind. Before he could express his opinion though, Diego had gone up the stairs, practically running away from the issue. He didn’t blame his brother. Though Diego always thrived on confrontation, likely to prove his authority in some backward way, he never liked arguing on personal matters. This whole situation was hitting too close to home for all of them. They needed to be a bit more direct in solving the problem, but the Hargreeves were nothing if not emotional stunted.

None of them were especially skilled with directness when it came to dealing with their own shit. Big bad villains? Yas. Family drama? Hell no. Klaus, for once, was a registered hot mess. He was in no position to sway his siblings in any way. They didn’t give a damn about what he had to say after all. All he wanted to do at the moment was to slam open that door and save Vanya from the nightmares and terror he knew such a situation could bring when one was isolated.

So, he followed Diego up the stairs silently as Luther and Allison still argued. Ben followed close behind him, watching the gears turn in Klaus’ head.


	2. Holding Out for A Hero

Returning to the safety of his own room once felt like a blessing after a long day, but that night Klaus found that no matter what he did he felt uneasy. It could have just been the withdrawal talking but he had a sneaking suspicion that it had more to do with the scene he had just witnessed in the basement. Though he was never much of a leader in anything, Klaus felt such a strong, powerful urge to race back down there and just blast open the damn door. 

 

His first personal experience with imprisonment had been in June of 2001. There had still been leaves on the ground, remnants of a cool spring beginning to turn into a pleasantly warm summer. The night before had been rainy, heavy the dirt muddy and the grass wet.

 

‘Ol Reggie Hargreeves had told him that he was going to the cemetery for “special training” and, in the beginning, it had seemed like he was being given some kind of gift.. He remembered both Luther and Diego had been furious to hear that Klaus of all people was getting their father’s individual attention for the evening. He had no idea what the training would involve, but he had to admit that it did make him feel a bit special. Their father was never one to show praise or care for his children in a personal way. The idea of being called to work on his powers on his own with Hargreeves was quite exciting for a while.

 

The mausoleum belonged to some old family from the 1800s, according to Reginald. It was a very old, poorly matienced structure with crumbling walls covered in moss and ivy. The old man spent a good amount of time explaining to his adopted son the history of the family. The Chalmers’ had been brutally murdered in 1884 by a home invader, leaving both parents and their four children bleeding out in their own home. It was gruesome piece of bloody history that had been completely forgotten by everyone, except for Reginald apparently.

 

Klaus could still remember the sound of leaves crunching underneath his hands as Reginald left him alone with the rotting bodies, the loud thud of the vault’s cast iron gate locking behind him. For most of the nights he’d spent inside, the mother of the deceased household stood over him, axe still embedded in her skull as she clutched her gored infant to her bosom. The children screamed in such an otherworldly, inhuman tone, like shrieking wind shattering glass. There was so much noise echoing over and over inside the marble walls. Sometimes other spirits from outside graves would pop in to visit and scream at the mortal in their midst. Perhaps they hadn’t liked outsiders. Maybe they just wanted attention. It didn’t matter much to him, though, as most of his current days thoughts were still filled with their wails anyway.

 

For forty eight hours he’d been left in that mausoleum with the spirits of the dead, locked in a tight space with his own personal night terrors pressing up against him on all sides. How long would the nightmare before for Vanya?

 

The sound of his hands hitting Ben’s transparent palms interrupted his thoughts.

 

_ “Hey! You did it.”  _ Ben smiled broadly at him, even after Klaus lost control and their hands fell apart. The phantom appeared in good spirits. Pun intended.  _ “What did you do to make it work? What was different this time?” _

 

What was different? What made Vanya’s restrains any different from his own? His head ached in the worst way, half from his new found sobriety and the rest coming from the painful thought process on his mind. Klaus looked away from Ben’s falling smile, not wanting to see the worry that was growing on his face. There had been an inkling of a plan in his head since he’d first left the basement, but he had to do something now. He had to.

 

"We've gotta let Vanya out," he bit out. "I can't stop thinking about it. I can't- Ben, how can just they just sit on this? Our sister is in a cage right now."

_ "Klaus, try and calm down-" _

"Man, I can't calm down! How could I possibly calm down?" Klaus put his head in his hands, trying to even out his breathing. "It's inhumane. It's fucked up. I want to just hold off and forget about everything that's going on like usual, but goddamnit I can't. Everyone knows it’s wrong, so why won't they let Vanya out?"

Ben closed his eyes and took a long sigh before kneeling down next to Klaus on the floor.  _ "It's not that simple. Getting all of us to agree on one thing is like trying to corral headless geese." _

"Beautiful simile."

_ "Shut up. I'm serious. They'll let Vanya out when they can all agree, which won't happen immediately. At least they’re all mostly on track. You know how up his own ass Luther can be, but he'll come around." _

Falling onto his back, Klaus let his arms flail out around him. "So what? We just leave her locked up like an animal until we can all play nice? I-I can’t stand the idea of being like  _ him _ . Thinking that people are just tools to be put away when they lose their usefulness. It’s gross. Gross, gross, gross.” He shook his head into his hands and took a long deep breath.

 

_ “Okay, okay…” _ Ben raised his hands, seeing his brother’s distress. _ “I agree with you that it’s wrong, but how do you propose we let her out of that vault without Luther and the other’s knowing? You’re not exactly the most subtle person on the planet, Klaus.” _

 

He stuck out his tongue, lightening the mood like an apology. “Rude. I can shut up when I need to… You think we could sneak Vanya out of the house?”

 

The family ghost hummed to himself in thought, turning away for a moment.  _ “I mean, it’s possible. Do you really want to go that far though, man?” _

  
“That far?”

 

_ “Dude, if you let Vanya loose on your own, Luther is going to be pissed,” _ Ben explained with his trademark frown on his face. _ “More than pissed, really. You know how he gets when he thinks the big shit. He’ll see this as a betrayal and as much as I love the others-” _

 

“Yeah. They’d follow him over me any day. You don’t need to sugarcoat it, bro. I know where I stand.” Klaus chose to sit down on his bed when Ben began to pace. He had made his opinion known, but Number Six had always been the more well-organized member of their duo.

 

_ “We’d need to move quickly if we’re going to really do this.” _ Ben slipped his hands into his pockets. He appeared relaxed, but it was easy to see that he was on edge about the situation. Honestly, though, Klaus didn’t blame him. It wasn’t like his impulsive plans often worked out for the best anyway. 

 

“Let’s go then! No time to lose!” He started up, energy rising quickly before his brother popped the bubble by stepping in front of him.

 

_ “Woah, woah there. Don’t you think we should have some kind of plan for how we’re going to get her out of the house unseen?” _

 

Klaus just shrugged and shimmied around him. “I don’t know! We’ll figure it out when we get there. The door seemed heavy as fuck but I’m sure I’ll be fired up enough to get you into the real. Then we’ll have three players in our party! Yay! I see only good things in our future.”

 

But Ben didn’t seem nearly as sure of himself. He watched Klaus quietly close his bedroom door as he fell into a sneaking crouch.  _ “Just try and stay quiet. They’ll ask questions if they find you sneaking out in the middle of the night.” _

 

“If they catch me alone, they’ll just think I’m going to fall off the wagon, man. Of that, I’m not concerned.” He waved him off, headed down the stairs. “Think I could fit Vanya in a duffle bag? She’s pretty small.” They both fell silent as Klaus reached the bottom of the staircase into the entryway. Mom was in the sitting room, happily stitching away at something. She wouldn’t stop him, but if she saw Klaus lurking around in the dark she’d probably rat him out to Pogo at least.

 

Backing off towards the kitchen, Klaus kept his eyes on Mom till she was out of sight before whispering into the air. “I’m gonna grab her and run. We don’t have time to dwell on fine details right now. The second she’s out of the vault, we’re gonna get on a bus or something and fuck off. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

 

The line was ended with a confident wink, but Ben couldn’t help but doubt everything would be that easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's so short. The next one is pretty long so hopefully, it'll make up for it. I might end up combining this chapter with Chapter one for sake of consistency but ehhh we'll see.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

Sneaking around the Academy had been a skill Klaus had honed in his childhood. Now as an adult, he had to thank his dastardly younger self for the knowledge. He made his way back into the basement completely unnoticed, the exception of course being Ben, who followed close behind him.

_ “How are you going to open the vault door?” _ The spirit asked his brother, who responded with a moan.

“My enormous, bulging muscles, of course.” Klaus shot Ben a brief smirk. “I figured that if we worked together we could manage it.”

_ “You really think you can make me corporal long enough to do that? We’ve been practicing yeah but it’s not like your abilities are very reliable.” _

“Oh ye of little faith,” he chuckled as they approached the bottom of the stairwell. “I do some of my best work while under pressure, as the song goes.”

Navigating the wide maze of basement corridors was no easy feat and it took the supernatural duo a good few minutes. Ben went around, looking through walls to make sure Klaus was going the right way until they eventually found Vanya once again.

Klaus ran down the hallway as fast as he could without making too much noise. When he approached he didn’t see his sister at first. As he drew closer, though, Klaus could see Vanya huddled on the ground, arms wrapped around her legs as she rocked herself in the room.

“Goddamnit, Luther. This is so fucked.” Ben hung back a bit to let Klaus test out the door. A tug on the handle proved completely ineffective, barely budging in the slightest. The attempt did make a barely audible noise that, though unheard by Klaus, was deafening to poor Vanya inside here prison.

His sister leapt up to the glass in a flash, fists hitting the door and giving Klaus a good look at her condition. Tear tracks ran down her cheeks, her face was red from screaming, and purple bruises were just beginning to form around her neck. He also noticed a bit of blood on her nails, from an injury or just the banging Klaus couldn’t tell.

“Christ. Hold on, Vanya!” The séance put both hands on the door and tried to pull it again, still to no avail. “Ben get your ecto-ass over here and help me!”

The damn door had to weigh more than a ton. Did the old man thing little tiny Vanya was going to smash through solid metal or something? This was all madness. Even if Vanya had some wildly overpowered ability, Klaus couldn’t imagine his good-natured sister purposefully harming anyone. Vanya has her faults, sure. The book was a low blow and everyone in the family knew it, but he didn’t blame her for wanting to vent off her frustrations. God knows it was healthier than him drowning sorrows in drugs and alcohol. Watching his little sister struggle inside her custom made prison only cemented in his head that he was doing the right thing. How could Luther look at Vanya, sweet-tempered, mild-mannered, lovely Vanya, and even consider locking her away?

“I’m going to get you out of here. Fuck Luther. Hold on!” Klaus continues to pull as Ben came up next to him. He took a step back to take a breath, locking eyes with Vanya for a moment. It seemed that she had finally screamed herself hoarse as she had taken a break as well. They both huffed in unison, exhausted by the struggle.

“I wish you could hear me puffing like an old smoker, sis. Maybe I’d give you a laugh.” Vanya obviously had no idea what he said, but she could see his gentle, familiar smile that appeared on his face. It seemed to calm her, causing her sobs to lessen a bit.

As Klaus caught his breath, Vanya surprised him by drawing close to the glass and breathing on to it. In the fog, she wrote:  _ Why? _

Her eyes looked so broken, so shattered. No one blamed her for hurting Allison, save Luther and (apparent to Klaus) herself. He couldn’t hear her, but he’d seen enough mute ghosts in his life to confidently read lips. “I’m sorry.” Over and over, both scream and whispered. He could remember the same being said when Ben couldn’t contain the monster within as a kid, when Luther accidentally broke furniture when they were learning how to use their gifts. They’d hurt each other superficially and seriously in the past. No one had ever been locked in a cell because of an accident.

Klaus stopped for a moment, biting his tongue. He raised a finger for pause with a frown as he frantically searched his coat pockets. After a second, he gave a tiny ‘woop!’ before pulling out a black eyeliner pencil. The séance raised his hand to reply, messy cursive on the glass as Vanya’s breath faded out. 

_ Luther’s wrong, want 2 help <3 _

The heart was a last second touch, but he thought the gesture might be nice. The near minute that passed had Klaus questioning whether or not his handwriting was legible in reverse. Vanya stared at his words without moving, almost without blinking. Their brother stood behind Klaus, allowing them that moment between them while staying close. Klaus wasn’t really sure how to move forward without a response.

Then Vanya smiled at him, tears still falling from her face. Klaus nodded, energy renewed, and went back to busting her out. 

“Let’s try this again, Benny Boy. With feeling.” He took a step back, shaking out his hands and turning to his ghostly companion. They 

“What do you think you’re doing, Klaus?”

In their childhood, Luther’s voice had always resonated with a certain kind of authority in the amongst the Hargreeves siblings. He was Dad’s “favorite”, the one who he knew would never disobey orders, the one who had shown the most loyalty, the one who would always do as told. He was the only one of them Klaus always knew he couldn’t completely trust. Sure, he’s siblings had their faults, but Luther was in their father’s pocket. The poor bastard actually believed Reginald Hargreeve’s lies about saving the world and fighting for the greater good. It would have been an endearing, naive trait if it wasn’t for how far he was willing to take it. Even after death, the old man’s word was law in Luther’s mind. 

“This is stupid. Even for you, Klaus.” Number One’s face was stern, seen reflected in the doors glass. Their sister physically recoiled at his approach, backing up to the far wall. “Are you high again? What’s brought this on?”

Klaus remembered how much his hands were shaking, still under the effects of “I’m sorry, Luther. But, man…” He gave a wide, sweeping motion to the vault door. “This is stupid. Even for you, Luther.”

  
“Do you think I don’t care about her?” Luther’s glare could pierce stone, but Klaus knew he couldn’t move from his spot in front of Vanya. His biggest brother placed his massive paw on Klaus’ shoulder, looking down on him with clear disappointment in his eyes. “I want our family to be safe and I can’t protect you all if we don’t work together.”

“Oh! Oh, of course. How silly of me,” Klaus said, stepping back to remove himself from Luther’s grasp. “Stupid, stupid Klaus. I should have known! So where is my cage, hm? If this is how you want to protect us, I’ll walk right into whatever prison you deem fit, oh great and wise leader.”

With his imposing stature, it was easy to be afraid of Luther’s apparent anger. He reached up to rub at his temple as he took another step forward. “You goddamn- Listen to me right now. You’re acting stupid, Klaus. I’m not just locking her up to be the bad guy here. Can’t you at least  _ try _ and see where I’m coming from?”

“I can. I know you think you’re doing what’s best for the world.” Klaus’s back hit the metal door, standing only inches away from Luther’s chest. “But that’s the problem. I get that you’re mad about the old man, but you aren’t the only person in this house that knows what it’s like to despise that bastard. He- He treated us like animals, experimented on us as if we were just lab rats. He used us, yeah. He used you, but just because one person fucked you up doesn’t mean everyone is out to get you, Luther.”

“That… isn’t what this is about.” Number One seemed perplexed, honestly taken off his guard. Klaus jumped on the given opportunity.

“So you’re telling me that if you could solve this issue just by talking to someone, you wouldn’t? Because, I hate to break it to you, but Vanya is right there. She’s our little sister. So what if she has powers we didn’t know about. When we were kids, you could barely pick up a glass without shattering it. Luther, we can still help her, show her how not hurt people. Look at her, for god sakes! She’s just scared! Besides, if the end of times is coming, wouldn’t you want the crazy powerful super-girl on our side?”

It was then Luther’s turn to step back. Klaus locked eyes with Ben where he floated over their brother’s mountain-like shoulders. There was a palpable tension in the room. Although he couldn’t hear any noise from inside Vanya’s cell, he could feel a slight vibration from the door he was pressed against. A brief glance proved his suspicions correct as he caught a glimpse of Vanya going absolutely berserk against the door, banging and screaming what he assumed was his own name by the way she was staring at him.

“Maybe… maybe you’re right.”

“I’m right?” Klaus looked up to Luther’s face. “I’m right! Just trust me, Luther. Once we get her out, we can figure out how to solve our problems together.”

Luther actually, genuinely chuckled. He hadn’t heard his brother laugh at his nonsense since they were kids, so Klaus felt quite at ease to see it return. The strong man let out one of his standard tired grunts, turning his eyes to the ground. Vanya’s banging seemed to slow behind him, hopefully seeing that he had made some headway with Luther. Hell, even Ben seemed to relax, giving him a big fat thumbs up from the corner. This time when Luther put his hand on Klaus’ shoulder, it wasn’t threatening at all.

“Aw, come here big guy.” Hugging Luther was a new experience. Not unenjoyable, much like embracing a large friendly dog. Klaus didn’t blame his brother’s paranoia. The guy was just as fucked up as the rest of their family. He really did believe he was doing the right thing, no matter how misguided he actually was. Maybe if they were all united together, they could finally find some semblance of order in their lives. Apocalypse avoided! Win for Klaus!

But then, there was a hand on the back of his head and his face was being turnt to the side. No one had ever held him like that before, but it almost felt gentle, how he would imagine an older brother would hold a young sibling. It would have been a touching end to a tiny feud if Luther’s grip wasn’t so tight.

“When we were kids, you were always the nice one. I miss that.” Luther’s fingers fell around Klaus’ neck, his monstrous arms braced to hold his lanky brother up against his chest. “The drugs are going to kill you, Klaus. We all care about you, we do. But when you treat yourself like garbage, it’s hard to not be rough on you. I meant it when I said I want to keep you all safe.”

“...y-you’re… you’re… c-c-choking…”

“I’m sorry, brother,” he said. “This isn’t how I wanted this to go. I know you mean well, but Vanya’s dangerous. As soon as I figure out how to fix this mess, I’ll let you both go. I promise. She’s dangerous and she needs to stay put for now. Maybe some... solitary will help you get clean. I just- I just want to keep our family together. I’m sorry.”

Ben was screaming, the only spirit Klaus could still see as his vision began to swim. “ _ Let him go! Luther! Fucking Christ! Let him go you bastard!” _ Other colorful profanities were crossing the void as well, but Klaus was too focused on getting in air to really hear him. His own hands pushed against Luther’s wall of a chest, struggling to get out of his arms hopelessly.

“...p-please… L-Luth…”

“It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”

Once, when he was first dabbling in drugs, Klaus overdosed on a hotel room floor. He remembered feeling as if he was floating right off the ground, like levitating into the stagnant air of a Holiday Inn Express. It wasn’t until he was woken up in the emergency room from shock paddles to the chest that he realized he had seen God. She was such a bitch. 

This time, though, as Klaus felt the life being literally squeezed out of his lungs, he felt all of his strength go to his hands and out of his fingertips. His eyes were focused on his little sister as she cried out behind the muffling glass window so he didn’t even notice what was happening at first. Luther could see what he was doing immediately, though. A blue light sparked up from the seance’s hand, once, twice, and then a solid color glowing in the dim basement. His eyes widen as he took in this strange power that he didn’t know Klaus even possessed but he remained firm around his brother’s chest and neck. The strange appearance of light didn’t seem to be worrisome at first, but it did serve in distracting Luther from the figure coming into view behind him.

A sheer fist slammed into the back of Luther’s skull and the strongman reflexively released his captive. Ben seemed just as shocked that he had been able to effect the struggle, but he didn’t hesitate to dive back in. To try and put distance between Number One and the fallen Number Four, Ben stepped through Luther to throw him backward with a swipe of his tentacles. The blow caught him with enough surprise that Ben managed to knock him out cold onto the ground.

“B-Benji, my boy?” Klaus struggled to catch his breath after having fallen against the door. He used the metal as leverage to hoist himself up before looking to his ghostly brother with a toothy grin. “I have no idea how I did that. Let’s do it again.”

Ben looked down to Luther then ran back over to his brother’s side. He knew had had to work quickly, considering his weak hold on his brother’s corporeal form. Together, they gave the handle good heave, managing to turn it ever so slightly before Ben started to flicker out. By the time the door made a sound as it gave way, Klaus could barely hold up his power. 

The door swung open without him pulling it as Vanya’s full weight went against it. His nose slammed against the metal and Ben disappeared as soon as he hit the floor. Klaus didn’t get a chance to recover from the shock of the hit, though, as he immediately found himself with his arm’s full of sister.

“I’m sorry!” Vanya cried out as she pressed herself into her brother’s chest as if it might be able to hide her away right then. “I’m so sorry. I’m s-sorry!”

He put an arm hesitantly around her middle, dazed as he attempted to sit up. Luckily, Vanya had never been a particularly heavy person, so he managed well enough. Blinking away the adrenaline haze, Klaus came to realize that his nose was quite broken by the blood that was starting to drip onto his lips. Shit hurt like a bitch, but it wasn’t his feature worry of the night.

“‘Gotta go,” e groaned. Vanya tried to wipe some of the red from his face with shaking hands, but he gently brushed off her tearful ministrations. “Vanya, we need gotta get out of here. Big guy over there is gonna be pissed when he wakes up. We gotta get you somewhere safe.”

“Luther…” She looked over to the prone form on the other side of the room. “I didn’t- Why did he- I-I… Klaus, how did you summon Ben?”

Good question. Pinching the bridge of his nose, head tipped back with his eyes closed, he groaned into the air. “I’m not completely sure, sister dear. He’s always around, but I guess sober me is just a little cooler in the power department than usual… Old news. I’m weird. Are you okay?”

Vanya looked at her brother with red eyes before giving him a watery little laugh. “I-I think so? I was with Luther and h-he hugged me but then h-he started… started to  _ choke  _ me… Then I… Klaus… I’m  _ so  _ sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“Don’t apologize, okay? We aren’t mad at you. I promise. Try not to blame yourself for shit you can’t prevent. That’s rule number one of superhero-ing.” He put an arm behind himself for support as he carefully stood up, helping Vanya along. Once they were up, he took her shaking form in his hand by her shoulders, squating just a bit so that he could better look his tiny little sister in the eye. “Remember when Ben’s powers started to come in? He nearly killed me with his tentacle crap and we didn’t lock him up. He didn’t know how to control his powers and that was okay. If we could teach Cthulhu himself how to control his powers, you’ll be fine.” The little giggle his blood-coated antics elicited felt priceless, infinitely valuable. 

The horror watched over them quietly, though Ben was too concerned with keeping tabs on the unconscious Luther to be truly annoyed with the comment.  _ “You need to get moving. He’ll wake up soon.” _

“Good point. Okay.” Klaus offered Vanya his ‘HELLO’ hand, which was quickly accepted. “I don’t know where we’re gonna go, but we really need to  _ escapé _ . Fast.”

“What about the- the others?”

“Man… I don’t think they wanted to put you down here either,” he assured. “But you know Luther. He’s headstrong and we’re all natural followers. Whether you meant to hurt Allison or not, he didn’t take it well and he’s upset with all the secrets Daddy hid from us. You just have the unfortunate luck of being one of those secrets.” Her face was falling lower and lower with each word, which he just couldn’t handle. Klaus knew that she’d always been the meekest out of them all, but he’d never realized just how small she could make herself. “They might not be able to stand up to Luther, but I’m nothing if not obtuse. They’ll come around once they have a different side to join. We’ll figure that all out, but first things first.” Klaus gave a sweeping gesture to the door with his spare hand. “After you, m’lady.”

In his grip, he could feel Vanya’s fear shaking through her. It wasn’t like she had stopped being scared just because she was out of the cage. He, of all people, knew that well. But there wouldn’t be time for hesitation till they were out of danger. If Luther woke up and found them still in the house, they’d have big trouble. His head was throbbing but Klaus forced himself to remain upright and take the lead, for Vanya’s sake.

They stumbled up the stairs, arm in arm, both exhausted and terrified. Vanya, the more physically stable of the two, was doing her best to regain herself emotionally to little avail. She sniffled and the occasional cough escaped her mouth as they ascended, but Klaus had enough sense to not to comment. Really, he didn’t know his sister very well. How well Vanya knew him was debatable as she did write a whole chapter on him in her tell-all. Still, as they walked step for step out of the basement, she had to have a million questions racing through her mind.

“Oh, what a riotous mess we’re in,” mumbled Klaus as their feet hit the first-floor landing. Vanya shot him a questioning look before she was spooked by the sound of footsteps in the kitchen. On reflex, she jumped up and pressed her palm against Klaus’ mouth as if expecting him to pour out noise. 

It was Allison who had entered the kitchen, holding a glass of water in her shaking hands. At the sight of their sister, Vanya let out a gentle gasp. Klaus covered her mouth over her arm, resulting in two a contorted, muffling embrace. 

She looked past Klaus, eyes only for Vanya. What would she be saying if she had a voice? Would there be anger? Forgiveness? He knew for a fact that Allison had no ill will for their sister, but in the face of her escaping, what could be going through the family success' head? Words couldn't write out all of the emotions, surely.

Allison took a step forward, raising her hand with a sad face. At the movement, Vanya instantly pushed herself as close to Klaus as was plausible. Face pressed into his tank top, tears began to wet the fabric as she started to whisper apologies frantically. The recoil had an immediate effect on Allison, drawing her back with obvious pain in her eyes. Her hand remained outstretched, but she kept her distance. 

Even if Klaus had never been forced to play the role of an older brother in his life, his arm knew to place itself around her shoulders on sheer instinct and adrenaline.

That motion brought Allison's attention up to him. Number Three wasn't a bad sister in any idea of the term, just inexperienced. While the two of them were never as close as some of the others, Klaus knew that Allison was kind hearted by nature and that she had some form of affection for all of her siblings in some way. He was used to the pitying kind of love he usually found in the looks she gave him, but in that moment, Klaus was surprised to see a smile growing. Albeit a teary-eyed one, the rumor lowered her hand and closed her eyes before nodding a silent, relieved affirmative in his reflection, answering the unanswered question.  _ Yes _ , it said.  _ They were safe in her eyes. _

“I’m sorry! God, I’m so sorry!” Vanya sobbed, a bit louder than before. As the tension faded out of the kitchen, Number Seven slowly became more and more incoherent. Pots and pans on the racks began to shake till Klaus raised his hand to her hair, gently shushing her. To his relief and shook, the motion actually seemed to have an effect. Hurrah! 

God, though, what was he even doing, pretending like he knew how to take care of another human being in any way? Poor Vanya cried against him, to terrified of rejection to even face the woman she was apologizing to. Allison had always been much better at comforting others, calming away their childhood pains. Before he could give himself anymore self-doubt, though, Klaus felt a small nudge against his arm around Vanya.

_ Where?  _ Allison had wrote on her notebook paper. He laughed, worn out from all the angst in the room.

“That’s the zillion dollar question, isn’t it?” Klaus looked at the wall rather than either of his sisters. “I have some mostly trustworthy friends downtown. Fun little happy ending massage parlor. It’s seedy, but they won’t bother us and I don’t think any of you guys know about the place. It’s not ideal, but a few days there and I’ll be able to, uh,  _ earn _ some money. World’s oldest profession and all that. I’ll get a motel room till this all blows over. Keep her out of trouble.”

Darling Allison was immediately appalled and indignant. He accepted a none-too-gentle whack to the head with a smirk before continuing. “I know, I know. It’s not a good plan, but it’s all we got, Alli. I need to get her somewhere out of the way.”

Allison turned away from them, walking towards the table in apparent anger. Klaus felt his own heart rate increase tenfold as he feared she was going to rat them out then and there. It wasn’t like whoring himself out was his  _ ideal _ way of getting money, but he and Vanya would be on their own the second they left the house, right? Ben was a sweetheart, but dead men have no bank accounts. A pained breath came up through his lungs, drawing Vanya to look up at him with worried, wet eyes.

There was, suddenly, a wad of hundreds thrust into his face, along with a set of car keys.

He had to remove his arm from Vanya to take Allison’s money, leading to her finally looking up at their sister directly. Allison hesitated an inch above her shoulder, looking for permission. As soon as Vanya nodded, both she and Klaus were pulled into an embrace. Tears renewed, Vanya began crying, much less pained this time. Allison leaned down to her ear, likely wishing that she could rumor her guilt away. Instead, the seance watched her kiss Vanya’s cheek as tears fell from her own face as well.

Klaus hadn’t been hugged unprompted in quite a long time, especially by a family member. Not that he didn’t appreciate it, touch-starved as he was, but the contact made him just a bit uncomfortable given the circumstance. This was supposed to be a Vanya/Allison moment, no weirdo brother in the mix. However, when he attempted to quietly shift out, give them time to make amends and say goodbye, Allison pulled him back in. Her face left Vanya’s shoulder to rise up to her full height. He almost expected a disappointed lecture from her, the thing that usually followed any of his siblings acknowledging his existence.

Adding to the many surprises of the day, Allison placed her hand against his cheek with unfamiliar tenderness. There was something behind her expression, things she wanted to say, but Klaus couldn’t decipher it in his confusion.

“We need to go.” Vanya spoke up, breaking the silence. “We… Luther’s gonna come after us. Allison… Thank you.”

The sister’s embraced again, seperate from their brother. While they exchanged their farewells for the time being, Klaus looked to Ben. He had placed himself near the side door out of the house, waiting patiently for the escaping duo. Klaus felt lost in the midst of all the familial love, ready to dodge out before the situation escalated. He didn’t want to break up the love fest, but thankfully Vanya did the job for him.

“I’m sorry, Allison. I’m still so sorry for what I did.” She separated from Allison and turned to Klaus. Tears still ran down her cheeks, but she was at least a bit calmer after seeing her sister. Vanya moved towards him, sniffling.

“Try not to let the boys burn down the house,” Klaus smiled, hand on the doorknob. “We’re gonna figure this shit out, right Van?” Hands in her pockets, Vanya stopped by his side and nodded nervously. “Okay, good… let’s blow this joint, sis.”

Allison sat down at the table, picking up her glass again as she watched Klaus guide her little sister out the door. She hadn’t had the initiative to go against Luther and that stung, but at the same time, she was somehow glad it was Klaus. He was just as messed up as the rest of them, just as maladjusted to adult life. Some might argue that Klaus was the worst of their group, yet she had to think that fact might just be what helps him save Vanya. Number Four was their family trainwreck, as Diego often said. He was the one that always made the worst choices, made the biggest mistakes, but everyone knew he always bounced back. No one wanted to admit it, but Klaus was a problem solver. Her other brothers were too harsh, too defensive of their actions. If Allison was right, Klaus might be able to help Vanya learn to move on. 

Well, they’d just need to wait and see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be posting this too early, but I popped this bad boy out real fast. Hope you enjoy the extra long chapter. All of these supportive comments have really been speeding up my process, so super big thanks!


	4. I Think We're Alone Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna change the other messed up annotations later. Thank you guys so much for all of your great feedback and kudos. This is a passion project I conjured from hell, but I am determined to see this bad boy through. Love ya'll

Chapter 4: I Think We’re Alone Now

It was raining outside. Last Klaus had checked, it had been nice and sunny all day long, but they’d need to handle the whole what-the-fuck-is-Vanya-doing thing once he and his sister were out of danger.

The keys Allison had given them belonged to her personal car, it seemed. The vehicle had been parked in the nearby alley, close by Diego’s. If it hadn’t reacted to the remote on the key ring, Klaus wouldn’t have dared consider such a drab thing to be in his glamorous sister’s possession. Perhaps it was a paparazzi-dodger, but he was in no position to be choosey.

He and Vanya approached the unassuming Volvo V70 R on stumbling feet. Every once in a while, Klaus caught Vanya looking up to the lit windows of their childhood home as if Luther would be jumping out to catch them at any moment.

“Okay. Okay, okay, okay.” He let go of his sister’s arm to rest against the car’s hood. Turning to Ben, Klaus raised a bloodied eyebrow. “Can you drive? I’m not feeling so hot, man.”

The horror rolled his eyes as a response while Vanya turned to him in confusion. 

“I-I probably shouldn’t be driving,” she spoke slowly as if explaining something obvious to a child. “My license is expired anyway…”

Klaus reached up to play with the zipper of his vest, forcing a smile on to his face for her. “Just kidding, just kidding. I mean, my license was revoked and I do think I have a wittle concussion. We shouldn’t be going far, though. Let’s get in and warm up. Come on, shotgun picks the tunes.”

It had been a while since he’d been behind the wheel of a moving vehicle, legally anyway. His skills had never been polished, but he figured they wouldn’t be traveling too far anyway. Once Vanya buckled herself into the passenger side door, Klaus turned on the engine in hopes of bringing some heat into the chilly air. It hadn’t been so cold before, but the weather had suddenly become truly frigid. His sister was shaking terrible and Klaus had to worry if she was causing all of this. Just what  _ were _ Vanya’s powers anyway? It might not be the time or place to vocalize his concerns, but he could panic internally. He was very good at that.

“Okay, so,” Klaus sighed, leaning back into the faux leather. Only the best interior for Allison, of course. The car was nicer than most of the few vehicles he’d ever driven, second only to the ice cream truck. The memory made him smirk a bit, just the right cocky look to throw Vanya’s way with a simple turn. “Where we goin’?”

Number Seven barely responded, adrenaline apparently drained. The seance didn’t blame her for being exhausted. Life was being a tiresome bitch and the car seats were super comfy. She did, however, give Klaus a slightly confused eyebrow. “I… I don’t know? A few hours ago, I was in a secluded cabin in the middle of the woods. I’m so… God, my only plan was to go to the Academy and look where that got me!”

With a pained look in her eye, Vanya turned to make a weak motion towards their childhood home. The action, however innocent, resulted in the passenger side window shattering into pieces. Glass fell onto the pavement outside, nearly crumbled into dust from the sheer force pushed against it. The two of them just kind of stared at the sudden destruction in awe. Neither knew how to respond to the random outburst of power other than to gawk at it.

_ “Holy shit,” _ Ben gasped from the backseat. He didn’t move from his reclined position, but he reached his hand forward to pull on the back of Klaus’ seat for a better view of the scene.  _ “That’s a lot of damage.” _

“I’m sorry!” Vanya squeaked out as tears began gathering again. As freaked out as Klaus was from all  _ that _ , he found himself calming down once he watched the source of so terrified as well. She turned to him shaking, reaching out to apologize again. “I didn’t mean to- I don’t even-”

Klaus took her hand in his own and placed his finger against her finger with a toothy smile. “Vanya. Vanya, it’s just a window. Everything’s going to be okay.” She seemed wholly unconvinced, so he reached over to take her by her shoulders. “Sis, seriously. I don’t know how to control your powers, but I know you’re not doing these things on purpose.”

“I-I…” She tried to start a sentence but needed to look somewhere else other than her brother’s face to continue. “When I was with… with  _ him _ , we figured out that it has to do with my… with my emotions. When I’m scared, I lose control and I hurt people. I don’t mean to! I’m not- I don’t  _ want _ to hurt anyone. I… I thought if I went to the Academy... I thought…”

“I’m here to help, Van,” Klaus pushed in after a moment of silence. “Luther… Luther’s a daddy’s boy. He has his disproportionately small head shoved so far up his own ass that he can’t see all the wrong, gross stuff that the old man did to us. I know Diego isn’t upset with you and I can’t imagine our sweet elderly baby brother would be either. Ben thinks you’re pretty badass, too. Telekinesis is like, the sickest power ever. Cool as heck.”

Said ghost rolled his eyes at the comment but it, miraculously, got a giggle out of her. Klaus couldn’t remember ever hearing Number Seven laugh much since they were kids, never more than a restrained chuckle. He decided to add  _ ‘Make Vanya smile more’ _ to his to-do list, because happiness looks good on everyone. 

“So… where are we going?” she asked, looking around while wiping her face on her sleeve. He watched her for a moment, quietly thinking to himself before responding.

“Allison threw a big ol’ bone our way so I say we find a cheap motel somewhere in the city.” Klaus put the car into reverse to ease out of the alley. “From there, we improvise up some magnificent plan of action to solve all our problems.”

“So… your plan is to make a plan?”

“Yeah!” He nodded as he headed off onto the road. Luckily, there wasn’t too much traffic around that evening Once things calm down a bit, we should stop by your apartment. Grab some clothes and stuff for the road?”

Vanya picked at pieces of glass that had landed on her lap. The brief smile faded away, though he was happy to see some of the tension in her stance go with it. She didn’t respond to his suggestion either only turning to gaze out through the broken window at the Academy passing out of frame.

“Why is this happening?” she said in a near whisper. Her eyes turned to him clear of tears yet full of fear. Vanya had always been distant from the rest of them, for reasons just now becoming truly apparent. He could joke and laugh his way around the elephant in the car, but even Klaus knew that he couldn’t ignore what had happened forever. His little sister had never looked so lost, so emotional. Klaus chose to turn away from the Academy as soon as he could, headed east.

Ahead of them, there was a small family crossing the street at a crosswalk. A mother pushed along a two-seated pram while her wife their dog’s leash. Said animal lead the party faithfully, dragging along its slight handler. The group laughed jovially together in the light of the setting sun, just happy to be together. The scene made Klaus horribly sad.

“Van, what dad did, what Luther did… It was wrong. I don’t care what you think you’ve done. No one deserves to be locked away without a chance to defend themselves! You weren’t in control when Allison got hurt. Whatever it takes, sis, I want to help you figure this out. We’re all… God, all of us are huge fuck-ups! Luther’s so blinded by dad’s destiny nonsense that he doesn’t see how messed up he’s acting. Allison’s having an identity crisis now that she’s realized how much she leans on her powers. Diego doesn’t trust anyone. Ben’s  _ dead _ . Fuck, man. Five was  _ literally  _ forced to mature alone in the actual apocalypse, so he’s turned into a nasty little bastard child that doesn’t know how to express human emotions. This family is falling apart constantly. You’re allowed to make mistakes, god damn it.” 

Worked up, the seance beat his hand against the wheel in a huff. “I mean, look at  _ me _ . I can barely stand up most days, I’m such a mess. I drown my sorrows and fears in whatever I can get my hands on because I’m so fucking terrified of absolutely everything. Dad broke us down and built us up from whatever rubble remained and we are not stronger for it. We were just kids… Vanya, we aren’t superheroes. We’re human fricking begins, made of bone and blood and shit. My point is: we can’t be upset with you for not knowing any better. You were figuring this out basically by yourself, with a murderer influencing you the whole way through. You shouldn’t be punished for not knowing how to use your powers. I’m not saying you aren’t dangerous. You could probably pop my head like a grape if I really piss you off. You’re super dangerous, but so is lead and we still use that in loads of things.  We all want you to be safe. Despite whatever big bastard Reginald thought, you have  _ always _ been a Hargreeves. No one gets left behind in the big band of master fuck-ups. You are our baby sister and we love you.

The light turned green, traffic beginning on again. Both Ben and Vanya were fixed on their now quiet brother in similar states of shock. The car was moving again, headed for an unknown place while they found themselves more lost than ever. It took three blocks of silence for Klaus himself to break the tension.

“Anyway, that’s the tea, sis,” he said as they turned another corner. “That motel should be okay. Last time I went on a bender there, there wasn’t even any bed bugs! Plus, look! There’s a Taco Bell  _ right there _ ! Sounds like paradise to me.”

“I love you, too, Klaus.” Vanya drew his gaze back to her, a light smile gracing her expression. “I’ve… I don’t think I’ve ever actually said that to you before. In case the message got last in this mess, you’re… you’re my brother, too. You have… so much faith in me that’s so undeserved, but I… I want to figure this out. I don’t want to hurt people. I don’t want to do bad. 

Klaus pulled off a truly terrible parking job in the lot right next to the flickering vacancy sign. The sun was beginning to set in the sky, the early light of stars just ready to peak out past the grey clouds. He looked out the windshield to look to what all was happening above them. The blood from his nose had mostly dried above his lips, in the roots of his beard. Vanya fell back into her seat, playing with the ends of her sleeves after she had given her piece. For once in several days, she didn’t feel defeated. She didn’t even feel afraid. It was really happening. Her family, at least two of them so far, were helping her.

Both siblings leaned into the quiet, undefinable hum that began to fill the space. It was soothing, soft and gentle like how Mom used to tuck them in at night. Like a feather-light kiss, made of everything safe. Vanya had a suspicion it was coming from her. Most weird sounds seemed to come from her anymore, but this one felt different. She felt happy, even if the moment was inevitably brief.

Her brother lightly punched her shoulder and made a ‘ _ come hither _ ’ motion to the backseat.

“Come on. Let’s go get some cinnamon twists.”


	5. To be deleted later

Hi there! Sorry that this isn’t a chapter but i wasn’t sure how else to say “I’m sorry I’ve been having an emotion crisis, fanfiction soon?” I had to step away for a hot sec with personal and school stuff on my ass, but the next chapter of this will be up soon! I just wanted to pop this message in here to let ya’ll know what’s up. I haven’t given up on this (despite my track record) and I will delete this note once the next chapter is up!

Toodles!

\- Dani

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT 8/3/2019: Before I update this any further, I’m gonna be going back through these first few chapters to clean up a bunch of little grammar mistakes and stuff jsuk. I don’t use ao3 enough to know if that will make this seem like i’m adding new stuff, so ye


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